I'd spent two months on the 'phone to venues all over the UK, generally getting knocked back and nearly having a nervous breakdown, but finally I had 12 dates booked all around the country....

Tour -2 Days 21/9/97
- BOOZE 'n' DRUGS 'n' VEGGIE STEW

Phil the Rat has hitched up to Reading From Brighton, and he is kvetching 'cos he's stuck for lambsbreath*. One of his regular dealers is holding, but the man is a Christian and 'cos it's a Sunday he won't sell! The Rat calls up various other contacts to find that they are all sleeping! and their housemates will not wake 'em up for anything. This situation is a most especial pain in the arse as the Rat has just recently got into a little smokin' and he's a lot more chilled with it than when he's pissed up on the booze.
I'm up 'til 2am cooking up gallons of veggie stew to keep us all from malnutrition over the next 3 weeks. Knackered.

[*Note: Lambsbreath - from the Rastafarian "the breath of the Lamb of God"]

Tour -1 Days 22/9/97 - FUCK UPS

An early start to a hard day for me. Mailers to put out to TV and Radio, followed by a full day at work and shoot home to get out for 2 hours' of rehearsal. Bad news - Norwich gig cancels on us. Arse. Good news - the TV people at Thames Valley TV (TVTV! haha) may turn up to film the gig tomorrow. But I won't be holding my breath.
Rehearsal gets off to a bad start, the people who run the Cell turn up late to open up, then the Rat's pedals, leads and strings all fuck up, but we keep on and eventually things come together. Thank Christ! I mean we only start a national bloody tour TOMORROW. I'm now putting all my faith in the old saying "crap rehearsal = good gig"... But I'm not particularly wound up, after getting fucked about by hundreds of promoters and associated arsewipes trying to book up the tour in the first place, actually getting out and playing will be a bloody relief!

Tour Day 1, 23/9/97 - SNOW 'n' IDIOTS

First gig of the tour down at the AlleyCat Live in Reading. We're first on at 9pm, opening for Campag Velocette and The Sweeney.We're there at 5.30pm closely followed by The Sweeney, but the Campag boys don't turn up for another hour (THEY'RE BLOODY FAMOUS NOW, I DON'T BLOODY BELIEVE IT!).... The upshot of this is that we sit around on our arses for bloody ages while Next Page Back to Channel Idris Main Page